OLR Report 2013-R-0089 summarizes the duty of mental health professionals to warn of potentially violent conduct by patients.
Connecticut statutes allow, but do not require, psychologists, psychiatrists, marital and family therapists, social workers, and licensed professional counselors to disclose information that would otherwise be confidential between the patient and therapist when they believe a serious risk of imminent personal injury to the patient or third parties exists. The statutes applying to the different mental health professionals are worded slightly differently. They all authorize disclosure, but they do not require it, nor do they place an affirmative duty on the mental health professional to warn either potential victims or law enforcement agencies. The statutes do not specify to whom the information may be disclosed. The statutes have not been amended since we issued our 2010 report and we have found no relevant case law on the duty to warn in Connecticut since then.
Mental health professionals may be held civilly liable under the common law, however, if they fail to warn an identifiable victim of an imminent physical threat. The common law duty to warn was initially articulated in a 1976 California Supreme Court case, Tarasoff v. Regents (17 Cal. 3d 425). Tarasoff held that therapists have an obligation to warn potential victims when they become aware of serious danger posed by their patients. While Connecticut's Supreme Court has declined to find a violation of the duty to warn in the factual situations presented to it to date, Connecticut courts have held that such a duty exists. A duty to control also exists under certain circumstances.
In January 2013, the National Conference of State Legislatures compiled duty to warn laws in all 50 states.
For more information, read the full report.
